Coffee Shop AU
by PurpleSnowstorm215
Summary: In which Erik is a grumpy office worker and Raoul is a cute, overly smiley barista working at the Garnier Coffee House where Erik likes to get his coffee before going to work. Cue flirting through nutmeg symbols and fluff. Modern, Coffee Shop AU for E/R. Feedback is appreciated.


AN: Hello there, welcome to this Coffee Shop AU of E/R I guess.  
It's modern day AU and everything's probably OOC.

I guess Raoul's sort of in his final year of university and Erik is a relatively young office worker if people really want to know their ages?

* * *

At 7:30AM sharp every week day, Erik stops by in the Garnier Coffee House for his usual coffee frappuccino with whipped cream on top before going to work.

He is usually served by Janine and her too made-up fake smile as she bids him the usual 'Good morning and have a great day' spittle after he pays for his coffee before she greets the next customer.

Today it's different.

Today there is a too smiley blonde who serves Erik but his smile doesn't seem fake; unlike Janine. There are more people in the Coffee House than usual and most of them are university students who are females. Their high-pitched chatter about the new barista really annoys Erik.

He waits his turn to be served, forced to listen to giggling and too-loud-not-subtle-at-all whispers of 'Ask him out!' And 'He's soooo cute'.

By the time he gets to the counter Erik is irritable and the all too happy barista is the cause.

When Erik is asked what he wants he snaps out his usual order without a thought, adding a grumble of 'make it quick' since the increase of customers has probably made him late for work.

He is forced to stop in his musings to respond to a question he isn't normally asked,

"You're not allergic to nutmeg or anything are you?"

Erik raises an eyebrow before quickly answering a 'No', his voice is in a curious tone which he hopes the barista misses but the blonde's grin tells Erik that he definitely noticed it.

When Erik gets his coffee he is bid a 'Good day' and that the smiley blonde hopes that Erik will 'enjoy his coffee'.

When Erik opens the lid of his coffee when he gets outside and he sees a smiley face made with nutmeg on top of the whipped cream.

* * *

It's a week later when Erik sees the smiley blonde, there are less people in the Coffee House so Erik knows he won't be late and decides to look at the barista a little more.

The first thing Erik notices is the bright blue eyes that seem to hold every positive emotion Erik can think of on the spot. They also seem to simultaneously be the colour of both the sky and the sea at the same time.

The next thing Erik notices is his hair. Or rather, the shade of blonde it is. Bright and practically golden but it doesn't look artificial at all. As if it's made from sunshine itself.

The barista or Raoul, Erik learns from reading his name tag is once again, irritatingly happy and positive for such an early time in the morning.

The perfect blue eyes seem to light up as he takes Erik's order, as if barista-Raoul is ecstatic to see him although Erik realises he probably looks at all the other customers in the same way. Even thinking that, Erik can't help but want it so that Raoul looks at him that way.

When Erik has his coffee and opens the lid outside the Coffee Shop, there is a nutmeg flower on the whipped cream this time. More specifically, the flower is a rose.

* * *

It's three days later when Erik is served by Raoul again. Apparently the blonde has managed to pick up more shifts at the Coffee Shop. No doubt due to the fact he brings in a horde of customers (mostly university girls of course) when he works.

Raoul smiles brightly when he sees Erik before Erik can voice his order Raoul speaks, his voice filled with mirth,

"Coffee frappuccino with whipped cream like always?"

Erik's mouth closes at Raoul's words before he nods "Yes. Please."

Raoul smiles that somehow perfect smile which makes Erik's heart skip a beat for a second before he begins making Erik's coffee.

Erik stares at the blonde's back while mentally scolding himself at how he seems to be acting like all those annoying girls who swoon over the barista.

Erik is jolted out of his thoughts when he is given his coffee. He mutters a thank you as he takes the cup from Raoul and Erik notices the confident, yet somehow sheepish smile on the other male's face and the slight blush that covers his cheeks. Erik raises an eyebrow before leaving the cafe, remembering that he has to go to work.

When he takes the lid off his coffee, there is a nutmeg tulip on the whipped cream.

* * *

Erik ends up seeing Raoul multiple times to get his coffee, each time something new is in nutmeg on his whipped cream.

There is one occasion when Erik realises that perhaps he is a little more special than the multiple people Raoul serves throughout the day.

Erik opened his coffee in the Coffee House than outside like usual. He was greeted with a nutmeg dove on his whipped cream. He glanced around him before noticing the hateful glares from a few girls around him as they look at his coffee, expressions filled with jealousy as they practically growl at him. It takes a while when he realises from looking around discreetly, that in their coffees, they've only had nutmeg smiley faces.

Erik concludes that perhaps he has gotten further than anyone else has with Raoul.

* * *

A week later, Erik finds a napkin wrapped around his coffee cup. When he unwraps it he spots a phone number with a smiley face next to it. The writing is both messy and cursive.

Erik concludes that this is Raoul's phone number.

He spends the work day sat at his desk, staring at the napkin and debating whether he should ring Raoul or not.

* * *

Erik finally gives Raoul a call after a week of carrying the napkin around and just staring at it.

The conversation is awkward and there's a lot of nervous laughter on Raoul's part as well as a few awkward pauses when the forced conversation lulls to a stop.

It's an hour later until they finally manage to talk relatively comfortably with each other.

They decide to set up a date for Friday and when he hangs up, Erik realises that this has to be the craziest thing he's ever done.

* * *

It's been about two and a half months of dating when Raoul and Erik finally get into a fairly comfortable position in their relationship. Erik is still unsure though since this is still definitely the craziest thing he's ever done and Raoul could most certainly do a lot better than Erik with his impossibly bright personality that just seems to attract everyone.

When Erik gets his coffee from Raoul on the way to work like usual he greeted by the blonde's radiant smile as well as a smiley drawn in a love heart on his napkin, he thinks that maybe ringing Raoul's number had been a good decision.

When Erik takes the lid off his coffee and there is a nutmeg love heart for the first time on his whipped cream, Erik decides that ringing Raoul's number had definitely been the craziest and the best decision of his life.

* * *

AN: This was terrible since it felt kind of rushed at the end but I tried my best and it was late ahaha.

I hope this is fluffy enough that it's practically sickening which is what I wanted I guess (?)

Yes Raoul decides to hit on Erik through his coffee which I think is quite clever to be honest.

Roses mean love, Tulips mean perfect love and well, the love heart is just a love heart I guess.

Hope you enjoyed, feedback is greatly appreciated c:


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